Determining the geographical location of a mobile communications device using a positioning reference signal

ABSTRACT

A communications device includes: a receiver configured to receive signals including at least one positioning reference signal transmitted in each of a plurality of time units, at least one antenna connected to the receiver; a motion detector configured to determine a relative local position of the communications device; and a controller configured to generate a measurement data set including plural measurement samples of at least a phase of the positioning reference signal according to a sampling rate, and a location of the communications device at which the phase of the positioning reference signal was determined. The controller is configured to estimate a relative angle of arrival of the received radio signals, used to determine an estimation of a location of the communications device, wherein the controller is configured to adapt at the rate of sampling to generate the measurement data set in accordance with predetermined conditions.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/547,526, filed Jul. 31, 2017, which is based on PCT filingPCT/EP2016/051598, filed Jan. 26, 2016, and claims priority to EP15155651.1, filed Feb. 18, 2015, the entire contents of each areincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND Field of Disclosure

The present disclosure relates to communications devices, which areconfigured to determine their location based on detecting a direction ofarrival of signals received from the infrastructure equipment. Thepresent technique also relates to infrastructure equipment and methodsof communicating.

Description of Related Art

The “background” description provided herein is for the purpose ofgenerally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of thepresently named inventors, to the extent it is described in thisbackground section, as well as aspects of the description which may nototherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neitherexpressly or impliedly admitted as prior art against the presentinvention.

It is well known in the field of wireless telecommunications, modernmobile communications devices can typically include a Global PositioningSystem (GPS) receiver, which is configured to receive signals from GPSsatellites, which can be used to detect a location of the communicationsdevice. However, the signals transmitted by the GPS satellites cannotpenetrate buildings and so in some situations a communications devicemay not be able to generate an indication of its location even if a GPSreceiver is available.

It is known for example from WO2011/146011 to determine a direction ofarrival of signals received from a base station of a mobilecommunications network, using positioning reference signals receivedfrom the base station. Using the direction of arrival, and a location ofthe base station it is possible to generate a location of acommunications device which receives the signals from the base station.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

According to one example embodiment of the present technique, acommunications device is configured to transmit signals to and/orreceive signals from an infrastructure equipment of a mobilecommunications network. The communications device comprises a receiverconfigured to receive signals transmitted by an infrastructure equipmentof a mobile communications network, the signals being transmitted inaccordance with a wireless access interface and including at least onepositioning reference signal transmitted in each of a plurality of timeunits. The communications device includes at least one antenna connectedto the receiver, a motion detector configured to determine a relativelocal position of the communications device, and a controller configuredto generate a measurement data set comprising a plurality of measurementsamples of at least a phase of the positioning reference signalaccording to a sampling rate, and a location of the communicationsdevice at which the phase of the positioning reference signal wasdetermined. The controller is configured to estimate a relative angle ofarrival of the received radio signals, which include the positioningreference signal, by interpreting the measurement data set as asynthetic antenna array, to determine an estimation of a location of thecommunications device using the estimate angle of arrival, wherein thecontroller is configured to adapt at the rate of sampling to generatethe measurement data set in accordance with predetermined conditions.

Embodiments of the present technique can provide an arrangement in whicha rate of sampling of a positioning reference signal received from aninfrastructure equipment of a mobile communications network can beadapted in accordance with the predetermined conditions such as arelative speed of the communications device so that a more accurateestimate of the direction of arrival of the received signals from theinfrastructure equipment can be determined. Using the direction ofarrival, and a location of the infrastructure equipment whichtransmitted the signals, a location of the communications device can bedetermined, when, for example, a GPS device cannot be used or is notavailable.

Further respective aspects and features are defined by the appendedclaims.

The foregoing paragraphs have been provided by way of generalintroduction, and are not intended to limit the scope of the followingclaims. The described embodiments, together with further advantages,will be best understood by reference to the following detaileddescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete appreciation of the disclosure and many of the attendantadvantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes betterunderstood by reference to the following detailed description whenconsidered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein likereference numerals designate identical or corresponding parts throughoutthe several views, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example of a mobiletelecommunication system;

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation illustrating a frame structure of adown-link of a wireless access interface according to an LTE standard;

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation illustrating a frame structure ofan up-link of wireless access interface according to an LTE standard;

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of a communications device operatingto transmit signals to an infrastructure equipment and to receivesignals from an infrastructure equipment and in which the communicationsdevice is disposed in a house;

FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of a process in which a set ofmeasurements are taken of received positioning reference signals to forma data set, from which a synthetic antenna array can be formed;

FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of a process in which acommunications device can determine its location by triangulating aplurality of directions of arrival of received signals from a pluralityof base stations;

FIG. 7 is an illustration of a difference between a positional accuracyfor a direction of arrival of signals depending upon a rate of samplingpositioning reference signals from a base station;

FIG. 8 is a graphical illustration of a difference in a measurementaccuracy produced by a first motion detector and a less accurate secondmotion detector;

FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram representing an illustration ofpositioning reference signals which are transmitted in each of aplurality of frames of a down-link LTE wireless access interface, suchas that shown for example in FIG. 2;

FIG. 10 is a schematic block diagram representing the illustration ofpositioning reference signals shown in FIG. 9, which are sampled at arate which has been selected for a slow moving communications devicewith a motion detector with a relatively high accuracy;

FIG. 11 is a schematic block diagram representing the illustration ofpositioning reference signals shown in FIG. 9, which are sampled at arate which has been selected for a fast moving communications devicewith a motion detector with a relatively low accuracy;

FIG. 12 is a part flow diagram, part message exchange diagramillustrating an example of a process in which a communications devicedetermines its location, or an infrastructure equipment determines thelocation of the communications device based on an angle of arrival ofsignals received from the infrastructure equipment by the communicationsdevice and a rate of measuring the positioning reference signalsdetermined by the infrastructure equipment in accordance withpredetermined parameters;

FIG. 13 is a part flow diagram, part message exchange diagramillustrating an example of a process in which a communications devicedetermines its location, based on an angle of arrival of signalsreceived from the infrastructure equipment by the communications deviceand a rate of measuring the positioning reference signals determined bythe communications device in accordance with predetermined parameters;and

FIG. 14 is a part flow diagram, part message exchange diagramillustrating an example of a process in which an infrastructureequipment determines a location of a communications device based on anangle of arrival of signals received from the infrastructure equipmentby the communications device and a rate of measuring the positioningreference signals determined by the infrastructure equipment inaccordance with predetermined parameters.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Conventional Communications System

FIG. 1 provides a schematic diagram illustrating some basicfunctionality of a mobile telecommunications network/system 100operating in accordance with LTE principles and which may be adapted toimplement embodiments of the disclosure as described further below.Various elements of FIG. 1 and their respective modes of operation arewell-known and defined in the relevant standards administered by the3GPP (RIM) body, and also described in many books on the subject, forexample, Holma H. and Toskala A [1]. It will be appreciated thatoperational aspects of the telecommunications network which are notspecifically described below may be implemented in accordance with anyknown techniques, for example according to the relevant standards.

The network 100 includes a plurality of base stations 101 connected to acore network 102. Each base station provides a coverage area 103 (i.e. acell) within which data can be communicated to and from communicationsdevices 104. Data is transmitted from base stations 101 tocommunications devices 104 within their respective coverage areas 103via a radio downlink. Data is transmitted from communications devices104 to the base stations 101 via a radio uplink. The uplink and downlinkcommunications are made using radio resources that are licensed forexclusive use by the operator of the network 100. The core network 102routes data to and from the communications devices 104 via therespective base stations 101 and provides functions such asauthentication, mobility management, charging and so on. Communicationsdevices may also be referred to as mobile stations, user equipment (UE),user device, mobile radio, and so forth. Base stations may also bereferred to as transceiver stations/NodeBs/eNodeBs, and so forth.

Mobile telecommunications systems such as those arranged in accordancewith the 3GPP defined Long Term Evolution (LTE) architecture use anorthogonal frequency division modulation (OFDM) based interface for theradio downlink (so-called OFDMA) and a single carrier frequency divisionmultiple access scheme (SC-FDMA) on the radio uplink.

FIG. 2 provides a simplified schematic diagram of the structure of adownlink of a wireless access interface that may be provided by or inassociation with the eNodeB of FIG. 1 when the communications system isoperating in accordance with the LTE standard. In LTE systems thewireless access interface of the downlink from an eNodeB to a UE isbased upon an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) accessradio interface. In an OFDM interface the resources of the availablebandwidth are divided in frequency into a plurality of orthogonalsubcarriers and data is transmitted in parallel on a plurality oforthogonal subcarriers, where bandwidths between 1.25 MHZ and 20 MHzbandwidth may be divided into 128 to 2048 orthogonal subcarriers forexample. Each subcarrier bandwidth may take any value but in LTE it isfixed at 15 KHz. As shown in FIG. 2, the resources of the wirelessaccess interface are also temporally divided into frames where a frame200 lasts 10 ms and is subdivided into 10 subframes 201 each with aduration of 1 ms. Each subframe is formed from 14 OFDM symbols and isdivided into two slots each of which comprise six or seven OFDM symbolsdepending on whether a normal or extended cyclic prefix is beingutilised between OFDM symbols for the reduction of inter symbolinterference. The resources within a slot may be divided into resourcesblocks 203 each comprising 12 subcarriers for the duration of one slotand the resources blocks further divided into resource elements 204which span one subcarrier for one OFDM symbol, where each rectangle 204represents a resource element. More details of the down-link structureof the LTE wireless access interface are provided in Annex 1.

FIG. 3 provides a simplified schematic diagram of the structure of anuplink of an LTE wireless access interface that may be provided by or inassociation with the eNodeB of FIG. 1. In LTE networks the uplinkwireless access interface is based upon a single carrier frequencydivision multiplexing FDM (SC-FDM) interface and downlink and uplinkwireless access interfaces may be provided by frequency divisionduplexing (FDD) or time division duplexing (TDD), where in TDDimplementations subframes switch between uplink and downlink subframesin accordance with predefined patterns. However, regardless of the formof duplexing used, a common uplink frame structure is utilised. Thesimplified structure of FIG. 3 illustrates such an uplink frame in anFDD implementation. A frame 300 is divided in to 10 subframes 301 of 1ms duration where each subframe 301 comprises two slots 302 of 0.5 msduration. Each slot is then formed from seven OFDM symbols 303 where acyclic prefix 304 is inserted between each symbol in a manner equivalentto that in downlink subframes. In FIG. 3 a normal cyclic prefix is usedand therefore there are seven OFDM symbols within a subframe, however,if an extended cyclic prefix were to be used, each slot would containonly six OFDM symbols. The resources of the uplink subframes are alsodivided into resource blocks and resource elements in a similar mannerto downlink subframes. More details of the LTE up-link represented inFIG. 3 are provided in Annex 1.

Location Identification Using a Synthetic Antenna Array

Embodiments of the present technique can provide an arrangement in whicha mobile communications device or UE can operate to communicate in amobile communications system via a base station, which can be arrangedto identify an angle of arrival of signals received from the basestation from measurements of those received signals at a plurality oflocations. The angle of arrival relative to the communications device ofsignals received from the eNB, can be used with knowledge of thelocation of the eNB to assist in identifying the location of the UE incombination with other measurements such as motion of the UE and/or theangle arrival of signals from another base station.

Embodiments of the present technique therefore provide an arrangement inwhich the eNB instructs the communications device or UE to performmeasurement of the received signals or to transmit received signals forwhich measurements are taken in accordance with predetermined conditionsof the communications device or UE such as a speed of the UE or arelative performance of the motion detector. An example arrangementwhich illustrates example embodiments of the present technique isshowing in FIG. 4. In FIG. 4, a UE 400 in accordance with the presenttechnique comprises a receiver 402 and a transmitter 404, which receivessignals detected by an antenna 408. The UE 400 is configured to transmitand receive signals using the receiver 402 and transmitter (404) underthe control of a controller 408. The signals for example are transmittedin accordance with the LTE wireless access interface explained abovewith reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 which are transmitted to and receivedfrom a base station eNB 410. The eNB conventionally comprises atransmitter 412, a receiver 414 which are controlled by a controller 416which may include a scheduler which controls access to thecommunications resources of the wireless access interface as explainedabove with reference to the LTE Standard. However, it will beappreciated that the general principles of the present technique can beapplied to any wireless access interface and is not limited to LTE.

As shown in FIG. 4 the UE 400 also includes a GPS receiver 430 as wellas the motion detector 432. The GPS processor 430 receives signals fromthe receiver antenna 402 via the receiver 406 and generates a positionof the UE 400 providing co-ordinates identifying its location on thesurface of the earth. This is achieved by receiving signals from one ormore satellites 440. However, in some examples such as where the UE 400is disposed inside a building, the signals transmitted by the satellite,for example GPS signals, may not be receivable by the antenna 406 incombination with the receiver 402 and so the GPS processor 430 may notbe able to provide an identification representing the location of the UE400. According to this example scenario, therefore the location of theUE 400 may be determined by identifying an angle of arrival of thesignals from the base station 410 in combination with one or more othermeasurements. This is achieved, as mentioned above, by arranging for aplurality of measurement data samples of known signals within the LTEdownlink transmissions from eNB 410 from which a synthetic array can beformed. Using the synthetic array an angle arrival of the signals fromthe eNB 410 can be determined which is represented in FIG. 4 as an angleα 434.

It is known to those skilled in the art to provide an arrangement inwhich a single antenna can be used to determine an angle of arrival ofsignals from a source, from which a location of a UE can be estimated.Such an arrangement is disclosed in WO2011/146011 [2], the content ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference.

An arrangement for generating and measuring an angle of arrival α ofradio signals transmitted by a base station is disclosed in prior artdocument WO 2011/146011 [2] by forming a synthetic array. This techniquedisclosed in WO 2011/146011 will now briefly be explained with referenceto FIG. 5. In accordance with this arrangement the UE is able to detectthe angle of arrival α of the signals from the base station 410 and incombination with additional input as well as the geographical locationof the base station 410 to determine its own geographical location, forexample, on a global co-ordinates system XYZ.

As shown in FIG. 5, the UE 400 is configured to estimate the directionto the eNB 410 based on a data set which is obtained by receiving andsampling a positioning reference signal (PRS) at different time pointswhile the UE 410 is moved along a three dimensional trajectory 510. Thesampling thus results in a set of spatial measurement points m1-m22 asshown in FIG. 5, although it will be appreciated that the number ofmeasurement points could be a number established within anypredetermined measurement period. The set of spatial measurement pointsm1-m22 will be referred to generally as a measurement data set. Eachmeasurement point of the measurement data set can represent one or moreproperties of the received PRS, including at least the phase of the PRS,and possibly the amplitude of the signal, as sampled at the respectivetime point. Typically, as the PRS is being sampled, motion data isgenerated by the motion detector 408, which represents a relative speedof the TIE whilst the measurement data set is being generated.

The motion positional data may indicate an relative or absolute locationof the UE 400 in a local coordinate system, or the correspondinglocation of the antenna 108 (i.e. accounting not only for translationbut also rotation of the UE 400), for each measurement point m₁-m₂₂. Thelocal coordinate system is defined in relation to the UE 400 and has nopredefined relation to the global coordinate system XYZ with respect towhich the UE 400 or the eNB 410 is to determine is location of the UE.

As explained in [2] by associating each measurement point m₁-m₂₂ with alocal position, it is possible to treat the resulting measurement dataset as a synthetic/virtual antenna array. That is to say that therelative motion or position data is combined with the measurement dataset to form a combined data set providing for each point in themeasurement data set (phase of the PRS) a relative location of thatsample point in space so that the measurement data set then can beinterpreted as if generated using a multi-antenna array. Each point inthe data set represents an antenna in the synthetic antenna array. Thereare various known directional estimation algorithms disclosed in [2]which can then be applied to the combined measurement data set toestimate the direction of arrival of the PRS received from the eNB, someof which are referred to in [2]. Such directional estimation algorithms,commonly denoted DOA (direction of arrival) algorithms, to enabledirectional estimation based on a data set of signal properties sampledat a sufficient number of spatially separated positions withsufficiently well-defined coordinates. Those samples can be measuredeither by a synthetic/virtual array or a physical array. Common to suchDOA algorithms is that they define a function that relates the phase ofthe signal, and possibly the amplitude of the signal, at differentpositions to the direction of arrival of the signal at the antennaarray.

The measurement data set gathered from the virtual antenna can bereferred to an “array response”, which is a well-known term to theperson skilled in the art, which refers to a M×1 complex array responseof the synthetic antenna array built up from the different measurementpositions to a (unit power) source in the direction (e, q;), where e, q;are the elevation and azimuth angles-of-arrival, respectively, from thesource and M is the number of measurement points. The array response canbe decomposed to form an element beam pattern shared by the antennaelement in all its positions (measurement points) and a phase vectorrelating the positions (measurement points) within the synthetic antennaarray to the phases of the array response. With this antenna arrayresponse, considering the measured phase changes during the movement, itis possible to determine the direction to the source. In one example, ifthere are enough sources available and that the locations of thosesources are known, it is possible to determine the location (globalposition) of the receiving antenna. Such an arrangement is illustratedin FIG. 6.

An alternative arrangement in which the UE is able to identify itslocation is for example by triangulating signals from a plurality ofother base stations as shown in FIG. 6. In FIG. 6 the UE performs thetechnique described above and generates an estimate of the location ofthe UE 400. Thus as shown in FIG. 6 the UE 400 applies the above methodto determine the arrival of signals from each of the respective basestations 601, 602, 603 which are shown to be α1, α2, α3 and thenperforms a triangulation of the respective bearings from the UE 400 tothe base station 601, 602, 603 so that the UE can identify its locationbased on an intersection of respective bearings in accordance with aknown arrangement.

For the example shown in FIG. 6, that the phase is indicative of thedirections to the sources and that this technique does not depend on thetime for the signal to travel from the source to the 10 receiver. Thetechnique thereby works for arbitrary signals s(ti) from the source. Formultipath channels, which are predominant for wireless communication, itshould be noted that there is one phase and amplitude term associatedwith each multipath component and it is the incoming angle of the multipath component that is estimated. Since the resulting data set may betreated/processed as a synthetic/virtual antenna array, the UE 400 maybe provided with a simple and space-efficient antenna 406, which doesnot enable directional estimation in itself, since the resulting dataset is treated/processed as a synthetic/virtual antenna array asdescribed above.

Adapting Location Estimation for Mobile Communications Network

Example embodiments of the present technique will now be described withreference to FIGS. 7 to 14. As explained above, respective exampleaspects and features of the present technique are arranged to provide alocation identification technique for UE's operating within a mobileradio network. In accordance with this technique, a relative rate ofgenerating the measurement data in order to determine an angle arrivalof signals from a base station is adapted in accordance withpredetermined conditions. In one example, the predetermined condition isthe relative rate of movement of the UE or speed of the UE, whereasanother example is the relative accuracy of the other measurementapparatus such as the motion detector. These embodiments will now beexplained.

As will be appreciated from the above explanation, the technique forforming a synthetic array is based on taking measurement values of areference signal (PRS) which is transmitted from a base station. In oneexample, the reference signal could be a predetermined signaltransmitted in the same resource block of each of the frames of an LTEwireless access interface. In another example the UEs can utilize thereference signals 207 shown in FIG. 2 which are transmitted as part ofthe downlink of the wireless access interface. However, essentially, inorder to derive these measurements and more specifically thedisplacement between these measurements, it is necessary to determine aphase difference of the received signal. However, the phase differencewill depend on the wavelength of the transmitted signal. For example,for a transmission wave length of 700 MHz then the relative wavelengthis 40 cm and therefore measurement should be made within the distance of40 cms in order to identify a difference in the phase of the PRS toavoid a phase ambiguity (within 360 degrees). However if the measurementis done at a 1 cm interval it may be hard to observe a difference in anangle of arrival of these signals and therefore the DOA detectionalgorithm will be less accurate. This arrangement is illustrated in FIG.7 in which respective measurement points 1 and 2 of an antenna of the UE400 is shown with respect to the transmitting base station 410. Asshown, the greater the distance between the measurements, the greaterthe difference in the angle of arrival and therefore the greater anaccuracy with which the angle arrival of the signals at the currentposition of the UE will be able to be measured. However, in order tomaximize a distant between measurements, it is necessary to estimate thespeed of movement of the UE and therefore the relative rate at which themeasurement data should be generated. Therefore, in accordance with thepresent technique the UE 400 is directed by the base station 410 todetermine each measurement sample after a time determined with respectto the speed of the UE. To this end, according to the exampleembodiments of the present technique the UE reports its relative speedto the base station which then determines, based on the availabletransmissions of the reference signals (PRS), the relative rate in whichit should be generating the measurements.

Another point to consider is the relative accuracy of the motiondetector. The motion detection can be for example generated by agyroscope. However the quality of the gyroscope will reflect theaccuracy of the measurement. A more cost efficient solution can beprovided by a lower accuracy motion detector. However this will requirea greater number of measurements of the relative angle of arrival togenerate the synthetic array. Accordingly, the UE may report itsaccuracy level and the eNB may decide to instruct the measurements to beconducted at shorter time intervals for more accurate motion detectors.

FIG. 8 provides an example illustration of accuracy of the gyroscopewith respect to measured movement for a first example on the left handside for a more expensive gyroscope and therefore more accurategyroscope and the right hand side a less accurate gyroscope andtherefore a lower cost gyroscope. Accordingly, a first arrow 802 in FIG.8 shows the actual movement of a UE and the second arrow 804 shows themeasured movement according to the more accurate gyroscope. The secondexample provides a third arrow representing the actual movement 806 andthe fourth arrow 808 represents the measured movement which differs moregreatly than the measurement arrow 804. Accordingly, as will beappreciated, in accordance with the relative quality of the motiondetector, the eNB can instruct the UE to increase a rate in whichmeasurement data is gathered for the angle arrival of the signals fromthe eNB.

FIGS. 9, 10 and 11 provide a schematic illustration of an arrangement inwhich a UE is instructed to generate measurement data of receivedpositioning reference signals in response to an instruction from an eNB.In FIG. 9, the positioning the reference signals (PRS) 901 are shownwhich are transmitted in each frame 200 of a downlink wireless accessinterface as represented by FIG. 2. As mentioned above in some examplesthe PRS are inserted in resource blocks of the PDSCH following anindication of their location which is transmitted in a control channel,which is the PDCCH, by the eNB. However, in other examples, thereference signals 207 which are transmitted within the downlink wirelessaccess interface, can be used by the UE 400 as PRS. In some examples thePRS may be selectively identified by the eNB 410 to the UE 400 asreference signals which are to be used as PRS according to a broadcastsignal or specifically signaled on a control channel, such as the PDCCHthat a resource block in the PDSCH contains a positioning referencesignal.

FIG. 10 provides an example illustration of an arrangement in which theUE has been instructed by the eNB to use only one in four positioningreference signals that generate the measurement data for the syntheticarray. Accordingly, FIG. 10 represents an example of a slow moving buthighly accurate positioning motion detector arrangement, so that onlythe shaded PRS 1001 are used to generate measurement sample data pointsfor the synthetic array and the remaining PRS 1004 are not used. Incontrast FIG. 11 shows an example in which the UE reports its speed asrelatively high but using an inaccurate motion detector. Accordingly,for the example shown in FIG. 11, the shading PRS 1101, which is everyother frame 200, are used and the remaining PRS 1104 are not used togenerate measurement data points for the synthetic array.

As will be appreciated therefore by the example illustrations in FIGS.9, 10 and 11, an arrangement is provided in which the eNB can controlthe rate of measuring a PRS transmitted by the eNB to control the ratein which measurement data for the synthetic array is generated inaccordance with predetermined conditions such as the speed of the UE ora relative accuracy of the motion detector.

As will be appreciated the calculation of the angle arrival of thesignals transmitted by the eNB 410 at the UE 400 can be performed eitherwithin the UE 400 or in the eNB 410 or a combination of the UE 400 andthe eNB 410. Therefore in one example the eNB 410 would receive themeasurement data samples of the synthetic array as explained above andperform the calculation within the eNB. As an alternative example, theUE 400 may retain the measurement data samples of the synthetic array inorder to calculate itself the angle arrival of the signals from the eNB410. In either case and since the measurement data must be performed bythe UE 400, the eNB 410 may instruct the UE 400 to generate themeasurement data samples at different rates according to the transmittedpositioning reference signals within each frame. As a furtheralternative the UE could itself determine a relative rate of sampling togenerate the measurement data samples for the synthetic array based onits relative speed, which are then reported with the measurement data tothe eNB 410. Alternatively, the UE would retain the measurement data andreceive coordinates identifying the location of the eNB 410 in order tocalculate the relative angle of arrival, which can be used to determinethe position of the UE 400. Therefore there are various combinations ofarrangement for calculating or using measurement data performed by theUE of the positioning reference signals between the UE 400 and the eNB410. FIGS. 12, 13 and 14 therefore provide different examples ofgenerating the measurement data at the UE under the control of the eNBor without the control of the eNB.

FIG. 12 provides an example in which eNB 410 determines the rate atwhich the UE 400 should generate measurement data samples for formingthe synthetic array. As shown in FIG. 12, the UE 400 first transmits ina message 1201 a report of predetermined or required parameters on whichthe relative rate of sampling depends. The required parameters could befor example a relative speed of the UE, a relative accuracy of themotion detector, such as for example the gyroscope, or other parameterssuch as whether UE currently has a pre-established estimate of itslocation or whether it includes a GPS receiver. For example the GPSreceiver may have generated an estimate of its location but may havecurrently lost contact with the satellites as shown for example for theindoor scenario showing in FIG. 4.

The eNB 410 in a process step 1202 determines a relative rate ofsampling of the measurement data to form the set of samples forsynthesizing the antenna array. The determined rate of transmission isthen transmitted in the message 1204 to the UE 400.

Optionally the geographic location is determined using a direction of adirection of angle of arrival calculated from the samples of measurementdata forming the synthetic array can then be calculated either in the UE400 or the eNB 410. Accordingly, in a process step 1210 the UEcalculates the geographic location. Alternatively in process step 1212the eNB calculates the geographic location based on reportedmeasurements. The measurements samples are reported by the UE to the eNBin a message 1214.

In FIG. 13 the corresponding steps shown in FIG. 12 are performed.However, these steps are now performed at the UE so that the UE nolonger has to report the predetermined parameters to the eNB or thedetermined measurement rate. Accordingly, in FIG. 13 in step 1200 the UEdetermines the predetermined required parameters such as the speed ofthe UE or a relative quality of the motion detector. In step 1202 the UEagain itself calculates the most appropriate measurement rate as inmeasurement samples for each of a number of frames. From thesemeasurement samples, as explained above, the synthetic array is formedfor which the angle of arrival of the signals from the eNB 410 can bedetermined.

In some examples, as it is necessary, the eNB may report its location,in a form of its geographic co-ordinates X, Y, Z to the UE 400. The UEthen can calculate as appropriate the geographic location of itselfusing the synthetic array and/or other measurement information such asan angle arrival of signals from another eNB such as that shown in FIG.6. According to this arrangement the UE 400 receives a location fromeach of the other eNB's and for which the UE performs measurements ofsignals received from those eNB's in order to calculate an angle ofarrival of those signals. Accordingly, the UE can build up a furtherindication of the location of the UE based on a triangulation of thedirection of the arrival of the signals from each of the eNB's.

A further example illustration of an arrangement in which the UE 400generates measurement samples of position reference signals under thecontrol of an eNB 410 is shown in FIG. 14. In FIG. 14 the controller 408within the eNB 410 first specifies parameters which are required inorder to determine the sampling rate of the measurement samples. The eNB410 then identifies the specified required parameters and informs the UEof these required parameters by a message 1404. The eNB 410 thendetermines the required parameters in a step 1406. The UE then reportsthe measured required parameters in a message 1408 to the UE 410. TheeNB then determines a rate for generating the measurement samplesperforming the synthetic array which is the same as step 1202 showing inFIG. 12 and so has the same reference 1202. Correspondingly, thereforethe eNB 410 transmits the measurement rate in message 1204 to the UE400. The UE 400 then performs the measurements at the instructedmeasurement rate for a predetermined period in step 1410. The UE thenreports the measurement samples in a message 1204 which corresponds to1204 shown in FIG. 12. The UE may report other location based parameterssuch as measurement samples from other base stations, to determine anangle of arrival of signals from those base stations, a speed of motionof the UE or a time of flight of signals from the eNB to the UE fromwhich a relative distance of the UE can be determined with respect tothe eNB 410. These measurements parameters are reported in message 1412to the eNB 410. In a step 1414 the eNB may then calculate the geographiclocation of the UE based on the reported measurements and reports thelocation of the UE in a message 1416 to the UE.

Accordingly embodiments of the present technique can provide anarrangement in which a communications device is configured to adapt arate of generating the measurement data set for forming a syntheticantenna array, from which an angle of arrival of radio signals can beestimated, the radio signals including positioning reference signals.The rate of generating the measurement data can be adapted in accordancewith predetermined parameters, such as for example, one or more of aspeed of the communications device, an accuracy of the motion detectoror a frequency of transmission of the radio signals. Other requiredparameters for determining the sampling rate of the positioningreference signals might include a carrier frequency of the wirelessaccess interface, or a distance from the source of the positioningreference signals, which is the transmitting eNB, an accuracy of thelocal positioning unit, how and when the reference signal is sent.

Annex 1:

The simplified structure of the downlink of an LTE wireless accessinterface presented in FIG. 2, also includes an illustration of eachsubframe 201, which comprises a control region 205 for the transmissionof control data, a data region 206 for the transmission of user datareference signals 207 and synchronization signals which are interspersedin the control and data regions in accordance with a predeterminedpattern. The control region 204 may contain a number of physicalchannels for the transmission of control data, such as a physicaldownlink control channel (PDCCH), a physical control format indicatorchannel (PCFICH) and a physical HARQ indicator channel (PHICH) The dataregion may contain a number of physical channel for the transmission ofdata, such as a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and a physicalbroadcast channels (PBCH). Although these physical channels provide awide range of functionality to LTE systems, in terms of resourceallocation and the present disclosure PDCCH and PDSCH are most relevant.Further information on the structure and functioning of the physicalchannels of LTE systems can be found in [1].

Resources within the PDSCH may be allocated by an eNodeB to UEs beingserved by the eNodeB. For example, a number of resource blocks of thePDSCH may be allocated to a UE in order that it may receive data that ithas previously requested or data which is being pushed to it by theeNodeB, such as radio resource control (RRC) signaling. In FIG. 2, UE1has been allocated resources 208 of the data region 206, UE2 resources209 and UE resources 210. UEs in a an LTE system may be allocated afraction of the available resources of the PDSCH and therefore UEs arerequired to be informed of the location of their allocated resourceswithin the PDCSH so that only relevant data within the PDSCH is detectedand estimated. In order to inform the UEs of the location of theirallocated communications resources, resource control informationspecifying downlink resource allocations is conveyed across the PDCCH ina form termed downlink control information (DCI), where resourceallocations for a PDSCH are communicated in a preceding PDCCH instancein the same subframe. During a resource allocation procedure, UEs thusmonitor the PDCCH for DCI addressed to them and once such a DCI isdetected, receive the DCI and detect and estimate the data from therelevant part of the PDSCH.

Each uplink subframe may include a plurality of different channels, forexample a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) 305, a physical uplinkcontrol channel (PDCCH) 306, and a physical random access channel(PRACH). The physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) may carry controlinformation such as ACK/NACK to the eNodeB for downlink transmissions,scheduling request indicators (SRI) for UEs wishing to be scheduleduplink resources, and feedback of downlink channel state information(CSI) for example. The PUSCH may carry UE uplink data or some uplinkcontrol data. Resources of the PUSCH are granted via PDCCH, such a grantbeing typically triggered by communicating to the network the amount ofdata ready to be transmitted in a buffer at the UE. The PRACH may bescheduled in any of the resources of an uplink frame in accordance witha one of a plurality of PRACH patterns that may be signaled to UE indownlink signaling such as system information blocks. As well asphysical uplink channels, uplink subframes may also include referencesignals. For example, demodulation reference signals (DMRS) 307 andsounding reference signals (SRS) 308 may be present in an uplinksubframe where the DMRS occupy the fourth symbol of a slot in whichPUSCH is transmitted and are used for decoding of PUCCH and PUSCH data,and where SRS are used for uplink channel estimation at the eNodeB.Further information on the structure and functioning of the physicalchannels of LTE systems can be found in [1].

In an analogous manner to the resources of the PDSCH, resources of thePUSCH are required to be scheduled or granted by the serving eNodeB andthus if data is to be transmitted by a UE, resources of the PUSCH arerequired to be granted to the UE by the eNode B. At a UE, PUSCH resourceallocation is achieved by the transmission of a scheduling request or abuffer status report to its serving eNodeB. The scheduling request maybe made, when there is insufficient uplink resource for the UE to send abuffer status report, via the transmission of Uplink Control information(UCI) on the PUCCH when there is no existing PUSCH allocation for theUE, or by transmission directly on the PUSCH when there is an existingPUSCH allocation for the UE. In response to a scheduling request, theeNodeB is configured to allocate a portion of the PUSCH resource to therequesting UE sufficient for transferring a buffer status report andthen inform the UE of the buffer status report resource allocation via aDCI in the PDCCH. Once or if the UE has PUSCH resource adequate to senda buffer status report, the buffer status report is sent to the eNodeBand gives the eNodeB information regarding the amount of data in anuplink buffer or buffers at the UE. After receiving the buffer statusreport, the eNodeB can allocate a portion of the PUSCH resources to thesending UE in order to transmit some of its buffered uplink data andthen inform the UE of the resource allocation via a DCI in the PDCCH.For example, presuming a UE has a connection with the eNodeB, the UEwill first transmit a PUSCH resource request in the PUCCH in the form ofa UCI. The UE will then monitor the PDCCH for an appropriate DCI,extract the details of the PUSCH resource allocation, and transmituplink data, at first comprising a buffer status report, and/or latercomprising a portion of the buffered data, in the allocated resources.

Although similar in structure to downlink subframes, uplink subframeshave a different control structure to downlink subframes, in particularthe upper 309 and lower 310 subcarriers/frequencies/resource blocks ofan uplink subframe are reserved for control signaling rather than theinitial symbols of a downlink subframe. Furthermore, although theresource allocation procedure for the downlink and uplink are relativelysimilar, the actual structure of the resources that may be allocated mayvary due to the different characteristics of the OFDM and SC-FDMinterfaces that are used in the downlink and uplink respectively. InOFDM each subcarrier is individually modulated and therefore it is notnecessary that frequency/subcarrier allocation are contiguous however,in SC-FDM subcarriers are modulation in combination and therefore ifefficient use of the available resources are to be made contiguousfrequency allocations for each UE are preferable.

As a result of the above described wireless interface structure andoperation, one or more UEs may communicate data to one another via acoordinating eNodeB, thus forming a conventional cellulartelecommunications system. Although cellular communications system suchas those based on the previously released LTE standards have beencommercially successful, a number of disadvantages are associated withsuch centralized systems. For example, if two UEs which are in closeproximity wish to communicate with each other, uplink and downlinkresources sufficient to convey the data are required. Consequently, twoportions of the system's resources are being used to convey a singleportion of data. A second disadvantage is that an eNodeB is required ifUEs, even when in close proximity, wish to communicate with one another.These limitations may be problematic when the system is experiencinghigh load or eNodeB coverage is not available, for instance in remoteareas or when eNodeBs are not functioning correctly. Overcoming theselimitations may increase both the capacity and efficiency of LTEnetworks but also lead to the creations of new revenue possibilities forLTE network operators.

Various further aspects and features of example embodiments are definedin the following numbered paragraphs:

Paragraphs: 1. A communications device configured to transmit signals toand/or receive signals from an infrastructure equipment of a mobilecommunications network, the communications device comprising

-   -   a receiver configured to receive signals transmitted by an        infrastructure equipment of a mobile communications network, the        signals being transmitted in accordance with a wireless access        interface and including at least one positioning reference        signal transmitted in each of a plurality of time units,    -   at least one antenna configured to be connected to the receiver,    -   a motion detector configured to determine a relative local        position of the communications device, and    -   a controller configured to generate a measurement data set        comprising a plurality of measurement samples of at least a        phase of the positioning reference signal according to a        sampling rate, and a relative local position of the        communications device at which the phase of the positioning        reference signal was determined,    -   to estimate a relative angle of arrival of the received radio        signals, which include the positioning reference signal, by        interpreting the measurement data set as a synthetic antenna        array,    -   to determine an estimation of a location of the communications        device using the estimate angle of arrival, wherein the        controller is configured to adapt at the rate of sampling to        generate the measurement data set in accordance with        predetermined conditions.

Paragraphs: 2. A communications device according to paragraph 1, whereinthe rate of sampling to generate the measurement data set is determinedwith respect to a number of time units of the wireless access intervalper measurement sample, the positioning reference signals beingtransmitted at least once per time unit.

Paragraphs: 3. A communications device according to paragraph 1 or 2,wherein the motion detector is configured to generate an estimate of aspeed of the communications device, and the predetermined conditionsinclude a speed of the communications device, the controller beingconfigured to adapt the measurement sampling rate in accordance with arelative speed of the communications device.

Paragraphs: 4. A communications device according to paragraph 1, 2 or 3,wherein the motion detector is one of a plurality of different types,each type having a relative accuracy, and the predetermined conditionsincludes the type of the motion detector, the measurement sampling ratebeing adapted in accordance with the relative accuracy of the motiondetector.

Paragraphs: 5. A communications device according to any of paragraphs 1to 4, wherein one or more of the predetermined conditions are reportedto the infrastructure equipment and in response the controller receivesan indication of the measurement sampling rate which should be used.

Paragraphs: 6. A communications device according to any of paragraphs 1to 5, wherein the controller is configured to control the receiver toreceive an indication of a location of the infrastructure equipment asglobal positioning coordinates, and to use the global positioningcoordinates to identify the location of the communications device.

Paragraphs: 7. A method of estimating a location of a communicationsdevice configured to transmit signals to and/or receive signals from aninfrastructure equipment of a mobile communications network, the methodcomprising

-   -   receiving signals, using at least one antenna, transmitted from        the infrastructure equipment of a mobile communications network,        the signals being transmitted in accordance with a wireless        access interface and including at least one positioning        reference signal transmitted in each of a plurality of time        units,    -   determining a relative local position of the communications        device using a motion detector,    -   generating a measurement data set comprising a plurality of        measurement samples of at least a phase of the positioning        reference signal according to a sampling rate, and a location of        the communications device at which the phase of the positioning        reference signal was determined,    -   estimating a relative angle of arrival of the received radio        signals, which include the positioning reference signal, by        interpreting the measurement data set as a synthetic antenna        array,    -   determining an estimation of a location of the communications        device using the estimate angle of arrival, and    -   adapting the rate of sampling to generate the measurement data        set in accordance with predetermined conditions.

Paragraphs: 8. A method according to paragraph 7, wherein the rate ofsampling to generate the measurement data set is determined with respectto a number of time units of the wireless access interval permeasurement sample, the positioning reference signals being transmittedat least once per time unit.

Paragraphs: 9. A method according to paragraph 7 or 8, wherein thepredetermined conditions include a speed of the communications device,and the method comprises

-   -   generating an estimate of a speed of the communications device,        and, the adapting the rate of sampling to generate the        measurement data set comprises    -   adapting the measurement sampling rate in accordance with a        relative speed of the communications device.

Paragraphs: 10. A method according to paragraph 7, 8 or 9, wherein themotion detector is one of a plurality of different types, each typehaving a relative accuracy, and the predetermined conditions includesthe type of the motion detector, and the adapting the rate of samplingto generate the measurement data set comprises

-   -   adapting the measurement sampling rate in accordance with the        relative accuracy of the motion detector.

Paragraphs: 11. A method according to any of paragraphs 7 to 10,comprising

-   -   reporting the predetermined conditions to the infrastructure        equipment, and    -   in response receiving an indication of the measurement sampling        rate, from the infrastructure equipment which should be used.

Paragraphs: 12. A method according to any of paragraphs 7 to 11,comprising

-   -   receiving an indication of a location of the infrastructure        equipment as global positioning coordinates, and    -   using the global positioning coordinates to identify the        location of the communications device.

Paragraphs: 13. An infrastructure equipment forming part of acommunications network, the infrastructure equipment comprising

-   -   a transmitter configured to transmit signals in accordance with        a wireless access interface to a communications device, the        transmitted signals including at least one positioning reference        signal transmitted in each of a plurality of time units,    -   a receiver configured to receive signals in accordance with the        wireless access interface from the communications device, the        received signals representing an indication of values of        predetermined parameters for controlling a rate of sampling the        positioning reference signals received at the communications        device to form a measurement data set which in combination with        a relative location of the communications device can be used to        generate a synthetic array for detecting an angle of arrival of        the signals, and    -   a controller configured    -   to generate an indication of the rate of sampling the received        positioning reference signals to generate the measurement data        set, based on the received values of the predetermined        conditions, and    -   to transmit the generated rate of sampling of the received        positioning reference signals to the communications device, the        rate of sampling being adapted in accordance with the        predetermined conditions.

Paragraphs: 14. An infrastructure equipment according to paragraph 13,wherein the rate of sampling to generate the measurement data set isdetermined with respect to a number of time units of the wireless accessinterface per measurement sample, the positioning reference signalsbeing transmitted at least once per time unit.

Paragraphs: 15. An infrastructure equipment according to paragraph 13 or14, wherein the predetermined conditions include a speed of thecommunications device, the controller being configured to generate theindication of the measurement sampling rate transmitted to thecommunications device in accordance with the value indicating therelative speed of the communications device, which is received from thecommunications device.

Paragraphs: 16. An infrastructure equipment according to paragraph 13,14 or 15, wherein the communications device includes a motion detector,which is one of a plurality of different types, each type having arelative accuracy, and the predetermined conditions includes the type ofthe motion detector, the controller being configured to generate theindication of the measurement sampling rate transmitted to thecommunications device in accordance with the value indicating therelative accuracy of the motion detector used by the communicationsdevice, which is received from the communications device.

Paragraphs: 17. An infrastructure equipment according to any ofparagraphs 13 to 16, wherein the controller is configured in combinationwith the transmitter

-   -   to transmit a indication of global coordinates representing a        location of the infrastructure equipment to the communications        device.

REFERENCES

-   [1] LTE for UMTS: OFDMA and SC-FDMA Based Radio Access, Harris Holma    and Antti Toskala, Wiley 2009, ISBN 978-0-470-99401-6.-   [2] WO2011/146011

What is claimed is:
 1. A communications device configured to transmit signals to and/or receive signals from an infrastructure equipment of a mobile communications network, the communications device comprising a receiver configured to receive signals transmitted by an infrastructure equipment of a mobile communications network, the signals being transmitted in accordance with a wireless access interface and including at least one positioning reference signal transmitted in each of a plurality of time units, at least one antenna configured to be connected to the receiver, a motion detector configured to determine a relative local position of the communications device, and a controller configured to generate a measurement data set comprising a plurality of measurement samples of at least a phase of the positioning reference signal according to a sampling rate, and a relative local position of the communications device at which the phase of the positioning reference signal was determined, to estimate a relative angle of arrival of the received radio signals, which include the positioning reference signal, by interpreting the measurement data set as a synthetic antenna array, to determine an estimation of a location of the communications device using the estimate angle of arrival, wherein the controller is configured to adapt at the rate of sampling to generate the measurement data set in accordance with predetermined conditions, wherein the predetermined conditions comprise at least one of an accuracy of the motion detector or a frequency of transmission of the received radio signals.
 2. A communications device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rate of sampling to generate the measurement data set is determined with respect to a number of time units of the wireless access interval per measurement sample, the positioning reference signals being transmitted at least once per time unit.
 3. A communications device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the motion detector is configured to generate an estimate of a speed of the communications device, and the predetermined conditions include a speed of the communications device, the controller being configured to adapt the measurement sampling rate in accordance with a relative speed of the communications device.
 4. A communications device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the motion detector is one of a plurality of different types, each type having a relative accuracy, and the predetermined conditions includes the type of the motion detector, the measurement sampling rate being adapted in accordance with the relative accuracy of the motion detector.
 5. A communications device as claimed in claim 1, wherein one or more of the predetermined conditions are reported to the infrastructure equipment and in response the controller receives an indication of the measurement sampling rate which should be used.
 6. A communications device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to control the receiver to receive an indication of a location of the infrastructure equipment as global positioning coordinates, and to use the global positioning coordinates to identify the location of the communications device.
 7. A method of estimating a location of a communications device configured to transmit signals to and/or receive signals from an infrastructure equipment of a mobile communications network, the method comprising receiving signals, using at least one antenna, transmitted from the infrastructure equipment of a mobile communications network, the signals being transmitted in accordance with a wireless access interface and including at least one positioning reference signal transmitted in each of a plurality of time units, determining a relative local position of the communications device using a motion detector, generating a measurement data set comprising a plurality of measurement samples of at least a phase of the positioning reference signal according to a sampling rate, and a location of the communications device at which the phase of the positioning reference signal was determined, estimating a relative angle of arrival of the received radio signals, which include the positioning reference signal, by interpreting the measurement data set as a synthetic antenna array, determining an estimation of a location of the communications device using the estimate angle of arrival, and adapting the rate of sampling to generate the measurement data set in accordance with predetermined conditions, wherein the predetermined conditions comprise at least one of an accuracy of the motion detector or a frequency of transmission of the received radio signals.
 8. A method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the rate of sampling to generate the measurement data set is determined with respect to a number of time units of the wireless access interval per measurement sample, the positioning reference signals being transmitted at least once per time unit.
 9. A method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the predetermined conditions include a speed of the communications device, and the method comprises generating an estimate of a speed of the communications device, and, the adapting the rate of sampling to generate the measurement data set comprises adapting the measurement sampling rate in accordance with a relative speed of the communications device.
 10. A method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the motion detector is one of a plurality of different types, each type having a relative accuracy, and the predetermined conditions includes the type of the motion detector, and the adapting the rate of sampling to generate the measurement data set comprises adapting the measurement sampling rate in accordance with the relative accuracy of the motion detector.
 11. A method as claimed in claim 7, comprising reporting the predetermined conditions to the infrastructure equipment, and in response receiving an indication of the measurement sampling rate, from the infrastructure equipment which should be used.
 12. A method as claimed in claim 7, comprising receiving an indication of a location of the infrastructure equipment as global positioning coordinates, and using the global positioning coordinates to identify the location of the communications device.
 13. An infrastructure equipment forming part of a communications network, the infrastructure equipment comprising a transmitter configured to transmit signals in accordance with a wireless access interface to a communications device, the transmitted signals including at least one positioning reference signal transmitted in each of a plurality of time units, and a receiver configured to receive signals in accordance with the wireless access interface from the communications device, the received signals representing an indication of values of predetermined parameters for controlling a rate of sampling the positioning reference signals received at the communications device to form a measurement data set which in combination with a relative location of the communications device can be used to generate a synthetic array for detecting an angle of arrival of the signal.
 14. An infrastructure equipment as claimed in claim 13, wherein the rate of sampling to generate the measurement data set is determined with respect to a number of time units of the wireless access interface per measurement sample, the positioning reference signals being transmitted at least once per time unit.
 15. An infrastructure equipment as claimed in claim 13, wherein the predetermined parameters include a speed of the communications device, a controller being configured to generate an indication of the measurement sampling rate in accordance with a specific value indicating the relative speed of the communications device, which is received from the communications device.
 16. An infrastructure equipment as claimed in claim 13, wherein the communications device includes a motion detector, which is one of a plurality of different types, each type having a relative accuracy, and the predetermined parameters includes the type of the motion detector, the controller being configured to generate the indication of the measurement sampling rate transmitted to the communications device in accordance with a specific value indicating the relative accuracy of the motion detector used by the communications device, which is received from the communications device.
 17. An infrastructure equipment as claimed in claim 13, further comprising: a controller configured to generate an indication of the rate of sampling the received positioning reference signals to generate the measurement data set, based on the received values of the predetermined parameters.
 18. An infrastructure equipment as claimed in claim 17, wherein the controller is configured in combination with the transmitter to transmit an indication of global coordinates representing a location of the infrastructure equipment to the communications device.
 19. An infrastructure equipment as claimed in claim 17, wherein the controller is further configured to transmit the generated rate of sampling of the received positioning reference signals to the communications device, the rate of sampling being adapted in accordance with the predetermined parameters.
 20. A method of assisting a communications device to estimate a location of the communications device, the method comprising transmitting signals in accordance with a wireless access interface to a communications device, the transmitted signals including at least one positioning reference signal transmitted in each of a plurality of time units, receiving signals in accordance with the wireless access interface from the communications device, the received signals representing an indication of values of predetermined parameters for controlling a rate of sampling the positioning reference signals received at the communications device to form a measurement data set which in combination with a relative location of the communications device can be used to generate a synthetic array for detecting an angle of arrival of the signals, wherein the rate of sampling to generate the measurement data set is determined with respect to a number of time units of the wireless access interface per measurement sample, the positioning reference signals being transmitted at least once per time unit. 